History 1. Lord William Bentinck (a.d. 1828-a.d. 1835)

He was a British soldier. He served our country from 1828 to 1835 as Governor General of India. He was also a major social reformer. Some of his greatest reforms were the abolition of Sati, acting against female infanticide and introduction of English as the major language of instruction in India.

He had introduced many financial reforms, judicial reforms, administrative reforms and social reforms. Some of his reforms were the abolition of Sati, acting against female infanticide and introduction of English as the major language of instruction in India.

The use of (b) Persian as court language was abolished. Lord William Bentinck abolished Persian as the court language and introduced vernacular language. He also introduced English as the major language of instruction in India.

They followed this practice to please their Gods. Lord William Bentinck abolished this practice and declared that any person involved in such activities would be considered as a murderer.

The first Burmese war came to an end by the Treaty of Yandaboo in 1826. Lord Amherst had declared war with Burma. The English defeated Burma. This ended by the Treaty of Yandaboo in 1826.

Lord William Bentinck is considered to be one of the greatest Governors-General of India. He was a British soldier. He served our country from 1828 to 1835 as Governor General of India.

Lord Macaulay was made as the first law member in the executive council of the Governor General of India. Lord Macaulay along with Lord William Bentinck introduced English as the medium of instruction in India.

The evil practices that prevailed in Indian society was Sati. This was a major issue existing in India. In this system, a woman was burnt alive on the funeral pyre of her deceased person. At times, it was voluntarily but in some cases, it was forced by relatives. It was prohibited by Lord William Bentinck and Raja Ram Mohan Roy in 1829 under the Sati Prohibition.

1. Abolition of Sati - 1829

In this system, a woman was burnt alive on the funeral pyre of her deceased person. At times, it was voluntarily but in some cases, it was forced by relatives. It was prohibited by Lord William Bentinck and Raja Ram Mohan Roy in 1829 under the Sati Prohibition

2. Major Sleeman - Suppression of Thugs

Thugs were a group of robbers in central India. They robbed and killed travellers. Lord William Bentinck ended this under Major Sleeman for the suppression of Thugs. They were caught and either was punished severely or killed.

3. Rajaram Mohan Roy - Social reformer

Raja Ram Mohan Roy was a famous social reformer who had put an end to the evil practice of Sati.

4. Macaulay - English education

Lord Macaulay was made as the first law member in the executive council of the Governor General of India. He had introduced English as the medium of instruction in India.

Lord William Bentinck became the Governor General of India in 1828. He continued to serve this post until 1835.

The Elphinstone College was established in Mumbai in 1856. It is one of the oldest colleges with some of the famous alumni such as Bal Gangadhar Tilak, B.R, Ambedkar, Jamsetji Tata etc.

Lord William Bentinck reduced the Bhatta of Military officer. Bhatta refers to the allowance of the military officer.

● When Lord Amherst was the Governor General of India, he declared war on Burma.

● This was with the basic motive of capturing Assam.

● This was in the year 1824.

● This was called the First Burmese War.

● The English won this ar by defeating the Burmese.

● However, this war ended with the Treaty of Yandaboo in 1826.

Lord William Bentinck had introduced the following educational reforms:

● He wanted to promote the use of the English language.

● He introduced this, by using the money sanctioned by the Charter Act 1813.

● He set up a medical college in Calcutta

● He also set up the famous Elphinstone College in Bombay in 1856.

Lord William Bentinck had introduced the following administrative reforms:

● He combined the office of collector and the office of magistrate.

● He took charge of the commander in chief of the army and introduced many reforms.

● He abolished Persian as the official court language and introduced vernacular language.

● He created a new post by the Charter Act 1833. This was called the executive council of the Governor General.

● Lord Macaulay was the first law member under this.

Lord William Bentinck was a British soldier. He served our country from 1828 to 1835 as Governor General of India. He was the successor of Lord Amherst. He was also a major social reformer. Some of his greatest social reforms are mentioned below:

● ABOLITION OF SATI: One of the evil practices that prevailed in Indian society was Sati. This was a major issue existing in India. It was especially observed among the Rajputs. In this system, a woman was burnt alive on the funeral pyre of her deceased person. At times, it was voluntarily but in some cases, it was forced by relatives. It was prohibited by Lord William Bentinck and Raja Ram Mohan Roy in 1829 under the Sati Prohibition. Anyone who forced a woman to do so was to be given capital punishment.

● ABOLITION OF FEMALE INFANTICIDE: This was another evil practice existing in Indian society. This was particularly observed in the Rajaputana and Kathiawar. In this practice, the children were burnt at the time of birth. The female child was burnt more often. They were considered an economic burden on the family. This was called as the female infanticide. Lord William Bentinck abolished this practice and declared it as a crime. He said anyone found involved in such kind of action would be considered as a murderer.

● SUPPRESSION OF THUGS: Thugs were a group of robbers in central India. They robbed and killed travellers. Lord William Bentinck ended this under Major Sleeman for the suppression of Thugs. They were caught and either was punished severely or killed.

Lord William Bentinck was the governor general in India from 1828 to 1835. He had worked for 7 years which was a period of great reforms in the administrative, judicial, educational and social sector. He was a firm believer of a peaceful atmosphere.

According to him ‘’Welfare of the state is based on the welfare of the people under the rule’’.

He was a capable and intelligent administrator who had taken several steps to introduce reforms for the Welfare of the people. He was able to draw proper attention to certain evil practices that were existing in Indian society for many years and nobody was willing to take any strict action against it. Some of the major social reforms introduced by him are mentioned below:

A) ABOLITION OF SATI: Sati was a cruel practice being practised in certain parts of the country. According to this system of the widow had to burn herself alive on the funeral pyre of her deceased husband. Initially, it began as a voluntary act. But later this became of force 1 by the relative and the acquaintances. Lord William Bentinck was against this practice. He introduced the Sati prohibition act in 1929 and declared this practice as an illegal offence. According to this law, anyone who forced a woman to perform Sati would be given capital punishment. Raja Ram Mohan Roy was another famous social reformer who had equal responsibility in the introduction of this act.

B) ABOLITION OF FEMALE INFANTICIDE: Another cruel practice that was existing in the Indian society was the killing of the newborn children. In some cases, it was considered a way to please God. In certain cultures, it was just an evil practice. This was particularly for the female child as she was considered an economic burden upon the family. This was particularly in Rajasthan and some parts of Western and Central India. Lord William Bentinck abolished this practice and said that anyone who would be found performing such act would be considered a murderer.

C) SUPPRESSION OF THUGS: Thugs were a gang of robbers in central India. They robbed and killed the travellers. Lord William Bentinck wanted to end this. He set up a new department under Major Sleeman. The Thugs were caught and either punished severely or killed. Their children were put to reformation programs and to industrial schools to learn useful crafts.

He had also introduced certain educational reforms.

A) Lord William Bentinck had introduced English as the main language of instruction.

B) He encouraged the Christian Missionary to establish schools and colleges in the country.

C) The Western system of education was spreading among the middle and upper-class Indians due to him.

Lord William Bentinck has always believed in the welfare of the people. According to him, the progress of the country can be achieved at a faster pace by ensuring the benefits of this progress to the common man. Thus he had said ‘’Welfare of the state is based on the welfare of the people under the rule’’.

Sati is an evil practice that has been prevalent in the world for many years. It is a sad and pathetic system which is continuing in many countries of the world. In this system, if the husband dies, his wife also has to leave this world along with him.

'The man has already been laid down on the pyre. The woman is dressed up as a bride. She comes out of her house and walks silently towards the pyre. Initially, this was considered as a voluntary act. But later on, it became a forced practice. She is thinking about the strong pressure from the society that was executed upon her to accept Sati. She remembers how people had told her that she does not have any children to support her. She is also thinking about how she was told that this is the act of a dutiful wife who would want to follow her husband into the Afterlife. The priest is reading some holy incantations. Within no time, she is burnt alive with her deceased husband.

A few women are crying upon the state of plight and sadness of the wife while others are praising her and calling her righteous women. The wails of the women are shunned down with the incantations and the only thing left are the ashes of our heartless society'

This was a scenario of a voluntary act. In some cases, it is forced upon by the relative in a gruesome manner. The wife is either drugged or thrown into the fire. Or she is held down using bamboo sticks and forcefully made to perform this act. It is considered to be the highest form of the devotion of a wife towards her husband. It is believed that a good wife is the one who is ready to follow her husband even after death. If a woman does not have any children who can look after her, she is forced to do sati as a compulsion.

Female infanticide refers to the intentional killing of a female child at her birth. This has been existing in the world for many years and has led to the death of a countless number of girl foetuses. This is the highest level of brutality experienced in the world.

CAUSES OF FEMALE INFANTICIDE:

The main causes of this increase in the level of female infanticide are mentioned below:

1. People tend to believe that a son would be an economic advantage, would bring economic stability to the family by earning money and support parents during old age.

2. On the contrary, a girl would be an economic burden. It would also be necessary to arrange dowry for her marriage.

3. It is also believed that it is essential to have one male child to continue the family line.

4. According to certain traditions, only sons are allowed to perform the funeral of their parents.

REPORT ON FEMALE INFANTICIDE:

1. Since 2001 the girl child number in India has been decreasing then the male child.

2. In 2010-11 3 million girl child are killed as compared to 2001. This number is 1 million more than the male child.

3. There are now 48 fewer girls per 1000 boys than there were in 1991.

4. Research conducted by CSO- central Statistical Organisation in the report ' Children in India 2012- A Statistical Appraisal', ''During 2001- 2011, the share of children to total population has declined and the decline was sharper for female children than male children in the age group 0—6 years''.

5. According to this report, female child population in the age group of 0-6 years was 78.83 million in 2001 which declined to 75.84 million in 2011.

6. The overall sex ratio is improving, but the child sex ratio is declining.

7. The population of girl child was 15.88% of the total female population of 496.5 million in 2001, which declined to 12.9 % of the total number of 586.47 million women in 2011.

8. The sex ratio at birth in India is 112 males to 100 females.

9. The number of illegal abortion is greater than the number of legal abortion. Many women die due to the complications resulting from unsafe abortions.

10. According to the Population Research Institute, at least 12,771,043 sex-selective abortions had taken place in India between 2000 and 2014.

11. The daily average of sex-selective abortion is 2332.

STEPS TO REDUCE FEMALE INFANTICIDE:

1. The Government of India is taking many steps to bring a change in the behaviour of the people and to improve their mindset. Many schemes, laws and acts are introduced for the favour of the education of the girl child.

2. Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign was introduced in January 2019 to educate the girl child.

3. It also introduced a cash transfer scheme called Balika Samriddhi Yojana and Dhanalakshmi Scheme.

4. According to the Preconception and Prenatal Diagnostic technique or Prohibition of sex selection act, 1990 which was amended in 2003 prohibits sex selection or disclosure of the sex of the foetus.

5. It also prohibits the sale of an ultrasound machine or any other equipment which is capable of determining the sex of the foetus to any person which are not registered under this act.

6. Medical termination of pregnancy or MTP Act in 1971 was introduced. It regulates the access to safe abortion and allows abortion up to 20 weeks in the case when the constituents of the pregnancy would be a risk to the pregnant women or could cause injury to physical and mental health.

Lord William Bentinck was the pioneer in introducing the educational reforms in India. Some of his achievements in the educational sector which had helped India are mentioned below:

● The Charter Act of 1813 had made a provision of 100000 rupees per year for the promotion of education in India. This money kept on to be accumulating for a very long time because no proper arrangement could be made.

● Before the arrival of Lord Bentinck, a lot of argument was made regarding the medium of education in the academic zone.

● The main question was- Whether the education should be imparted through the Indian language or the English language?

● Some of the orientalists such as Heyman Wilson and H.T. Princes were in the opinion of using Sanskrit, Arabic and Persian as the medium of education.

● Some of the Indian liberals like Raja Ram Mohan Roy was in favour of using the English language as the medium of education.

● Lord Macaulay who was a law member of the Council gave recommendations on this topic. This was called the Macaulay's minutes.

● According to this, it was decided to spend the above-mentioned amount for the education of Indians, and education was to be imparted through English.

● On March 7, 1835, Lord Bentinck declared “His Lordship in Council is of the opinion that the great object of the British Government ought to be the promotion of European literature and science among the natives of India and that all the fund appropriated for the purpose of education would be best employed on English education alone.”

● Christian missionaries were also encouraged to set up schools and colleges in India.

● The Elphinstone college was set up in Mumbai. It is one of the oldest colleges in the University of Mumbai.

● A Medical College was also set up in Kolkata.

Thus, the Britishers had greatly helped India unto the path of education.